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National Immigration Forum

Yesterday, in a 216-198 vote, the House passed the DREAM Act, a measure that lays out a path to citizenship for young adults who were brought to the United States illegally as children, and who graduate from high school with the commitment to attend college or join the military. Today, the Senate took a procedural vote that temporarily delayed action on the measure in order to build more support for its consideration in the coming week.

Michael B. Keegan, President of People For the American Way, issued the following statement:

Until the DREAM Act becomes law, tens of thousands of young Americans will continue to be treated as criminals in the only homes they know. The Senate must follow the House’s example and work quickly to eliminate what is a fundamental injustice in American law. We support Senator Reid’s efforts to gather enough votes to pass DREAM, and urge fair-minded senators to throw aside divisive anti-immigrant politics and act with common sense and compassion.

• Because the public supports it—70%, according to a recent poll by First Focus.

• Because the military wants it. Secretary of Defense Bill Gates recently wrote a letter to the DREAM Act’s sponsor in the Senate in support of the DREAM Act. Retired Gen. Colin Powell has also spoken publicly in favor of the DREAM Act. The DREAM Act will help the military meet recruitment goals, because one of the ways students will qualify is to serve in the military.

• Because taxpayers deserve a return on their investment. Allowing immigrant students to continue their education and achieve their potential will translate into better jobs and higher tax revenue when these promising young people enter the workforce. A single-minded focus on enforcement, as proposed by anti-immigrant Members of Congress would deny taxpayers this return on investment, and result in higher deficits, cuts in other programs, or higher taxes to pay to deport these immigrant youth.

The Senate vote on a motion to table the DREAM cloture vote, which took place moments ago, reflected a strategic decision to buy time to build more support for the DREAM Act.

If you were watching the vote or saw a headline about it, you may have been puzzled as to why Senate Leader Reid made a motion to table his own cloture motion, and why so many Democrats voted for it. Why did this happen?

It’s complicated. Republicans have vowed to block every bill in the Senate until the issues of tax cuts and funding of the government for the current fiscal year are resolved. Democratic leadership decided they would push back the DREAM vote until these other issues are resolved. Once the tax cuts and government funding are dealt with, Republicans will not be able to use them as excuses to oppose the DREAM Act.

However: Senator Reid needed “Unanimous Consent” to withdraw his cloture motion and push back the vote. He did not get it, forcing him to offer a motion to table the cloture vote.

Procedural trick: By tabling the cloture vote, Democrats will be able to bring the DREAM Act up again in the coming days when the other issues have been resolved.

Bottom line: Our allies in the Senate know that DREAM supporters have momentum coming out of the House victory yesterday. They want to take the additional time, remove excuses now being made by Republicans, and cultivate more support for DREAM in the Senate.

A real vote on DREAM in the Senate will be scheduled later. Please continue to contact your Senators and tell them to support the Dream Act.

Here again is the phone number you can call to be patched through to your Senators offices: 866-996-5161.

We will keep you posted as more information becomes available on the schedule for a Senate vote on the DREAM Act.

• Because the public supports it—70%, according to a recent poll by First Focus.

• Because the military wants it. Secretary of Defense Bill Gates recently wrote a letter to the DREAM Act’s sponsor in the Senate in support of the DREAM Act. Retired Gen. Colin Powell has also spoken publicly in favor of the DREAM Act. The DREAM Act will help the military meet recruitment goals, because one of the ways students will qualify is to serve in the military.

• Because taxpayers deserve a return on their investment. Allowing immigrant students to continue their education and achieve their potential will translate into better jobs and higher tax revenue when these promising young people enter the workforce. A single-minded focus on enforcement, as proposed by anti-immigrant Members of Congress would deny taxpayers this return on investment, and result in higher deficits, cuts in other programs, or higher taxes to pay to deport these immigrant youth.

We are also going to repeal the discriminatory don't ask, don't tell rule. We are going to match our policy with our principles and finally say that in America everyone who steps up to serve our country should be welcomed.

Republicans know they do not have the votes to take this repeal out of the Defense authorization bill, so they are holding up the whole bill. But when they refuse to debate it, they also hold up a well-deserved raise for our troops, better health care for our troops and their families, equipment such as MRAP vehicles that keep our troops safe, and other critical wartime efforts in Afghanistan and counterterrorism efforts around the world.

We’ve been waiting 17 years for the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. But our troops are also waiting. Click here to contact your Senators, and here for information about this Friday’s rally at the Capitol.

The DREAM Act is moving closer to a vote in the House, and anti-immigrant Members of Congress are getting ready. They are circulating their familiar talking points referring to the DREAM Act as a “mass amnesty,” and claiming that it would result in the “crowding out” of U.S. citizens from U.S. public universities.

We need you to call your representatives to push back on anti-immigrant falsehoods.

Please call your Representative TODAY. Use this number: 866-967-6018, and your call will be directed to the office of your Representative. Ask your Representative to support a vote on the DREAM Act and to vote for passage of the Act.

Briefly, the DREAM Act would give legal status to immigrant youth who were brought here by their parents and who subsequently grew up here, went to school here and now want to go to college or serve in our military. They are American in every way except their paperwork.

Why should your Representative support the DREAM Act?

• Because the public supports it—70%, according to a recent poll by First Focus.

• Because the military wants it. Secretary of Defense Bill Gates recently wrote a letter to the DREAM Act’s sponsor in the Senate in support of the DREAM Act. Retired Gen. Colin Powell has also spoken publicly in favor of the DREAM Act. The DREAM Act will help the military meet recruitment goals, because one of the ways students will qualify is to serve in the military.

• Because taxpayers deserve a return on their investment. Allowing immigrant students to continue their education and achieve their potential will translate into better jobs and higher tax revenue when these promising young people enter the workforce. A single-minded focus on enforcement, as proposed by anti-immigrant Members of Congress would deny taxpayers this return on investment, and result in higher deficits, cuts in other programs, or higher taxes to pay to deport these immigrant youth.

Call your Representative TODAY and ask him or her to support the DREAM Act. Call 866-967-6018.

The DREAM Act is moving closer to a vote in the House, and anti-immigrant Members of Congress are getting ready. They are circulating their familiar talking points referring to the DREAM Act as a “mass amnesty,” and claiming that it would result in the “crowding out” of U.S. citizens from U.S. public universities.

We need you to call your representatives to push back on anti-immigrant falsehoods.

Please call your Representative TODAY. Use this number: 866-967-6018, and your call will be directed to the office of your Representative. Ask your Representative to support a vote on the DREAM Act and to vote for passage of the Act.

Briefly, the DREAM Act would give legal status to immigrant youth who were brought here by their parents and who subsequently grew up here, went to school here and now want to go to college or serve in our military. They are American in every way except their paperwork.

Why should your Representative support the DREAM Act?

• Because the public supports it—70%, according to a recent poll by First Focus.

• Because the military wants it. Secretary of Defense Bill Gates recently wrote a letter to the DREAM Act’s sponsor in the Senate in support of the DREAM Act. Retired Gen. Colin Powell has also spoken publicly in favor of the DREAM Act. The DREAM Act will help the military meet recruitment goals, because one of the ways students will qualify is to serve in the military.

• Because taxpayers deserve a return on their investment. Allowing immigrant students to continue their education and achieve their potential will translate into better jobs and higher tax revenue when these promising young people enter the workforce. A single-minded focus on enforcement, as proposed by anti-immigrant Members of Congress would deny taxpayers this return on investment, and result in higher deficits, cuts in other programs, or higher taxes to pay to deport these immigrant youth.

Call your Representative TODAY and ask him or her to support the DREAM Act. Call 866-967-6018.